Constance in world cinema: Which of the actresses is called the most charming companion of D'Artanyan

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

At the moment, there are already more than 100 adaptations of the novel by Alexandre Dumas "The Three Musketeers", and the audience's interest in this work continues unabated. One of the most interesting characters for film interpretations was Constance Bonacieux, because the writer endowed her with a very contradictory nature and did not reveal the motivation for her actions. And this gave the directors room for creativity: since the era of silent cinema, Constance was either a fatal beauty and an insidious intriguer to match Milady, then an innocent victim of circumstances and other people's intrigues. And which of the actresses looked the most convincing in this image is up to you to judge.

Rhea Mitchell

The first films based on The Three Musketeers appeared at the beginning of the 20th century, at the dawn of cinema, in the era of silent cinema, in the USA, Great Britain, Italy and France. In 1916, the American silent film The Three Musketeers, directed by Charles Suicard, was released. The role of Constance in it was played by Rhea Mitchell, an American actress and screenwriter who made her film debut the year before.

By nature, Rhea Mitchell was more like Milady - she received the nickname "stunt girls" for the fact that she performed all the stunts on her own, rode a horse, dashingly controlled a weapon and easily won men's hearts. Throughout her film career, she played more than 100 roles - mainly in westerns, where she appeared in the images of femme fatale. Unfortunately, the film "The Three Musketeers" with her participation has not survived, and one can only speculate about what Constance was in her performance.

June Allison

Of all the Hollywood film versions of The Three Musketeers, the 1948 adaptation of George Sidney is called one of the closest to the literary source. June Allison's Constance looks and behaves like the Queen's maidservant, not a noble maid of honor. Dumas describes this heroine as a nimble, short, pretty girl - this is exactly what the actress appeared on the screens. Many noted the extraordinary plasticity of June Allison, and this was not surprising, because she was not only an actress, but also a dancer.

June Allison's real name is Ella Geisman. She was born into a poor family in New York. When she was 8 years old, a tree fell on her and severely injured her legs. According to the doctors' forecasts, the girl did not even have a chance to walk, but after a few years she was already dancing. A dream helped her to get on her feet - she wanted to dance just like her idols, artists Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. As a result of hard training, the girl was able to fulfill her dream. As a result, June Ellison became the star of Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows.

Perrette Pradee

The French film "The Three Musketeers" by Bernard Borderie in 1961 is called the canonical adaptation of Dumas's novel. The director assembled a brilliant cast, and Mylene Demongeot shone brightest in him as Milady, but Perrette Pradee's Constance was not inferior to her. She looked adorable, sweet and feminine.

The role of Constance Bonacieux became the most successful and famous French actress in her film career. In the early 1960s. she was called one of the most promising debutantes, but her film career could hardly be called brilliant. She filmed until 1987, but in the 1970s-1980s.played mainly in television series. Perrette Pradier was also known as a master of dubbing.

Raquel Welch

In the dilogy of Richard Lester "The Three Musketeers: Pendants of the Queen" and "The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge" 1973-1974. the role of Constance Bonacieux was played by the American actress Raquel Welch, who was called one of the most desirable women of the 1970s. Her beauty was so bright and attractive, accentuated by luxurious outfits with plunging necklines, that such a Constance could well compete with Milady performed by Faye Dunaway.

As a teenager, Raquel began participating in beauty pageants and began her career as a fashion model. In the mid-1960s. she made her film debut. The film "Million Years BC" brought her worldwide popularity. In the cinema, she often got the images of unapproachable cold beauties with strong-willed and tough characters. Such an image was not associated with the sweet and touching Constance, but Raquel Welch added new colors to it. For this role, she was awarded the Golden Globe Award. Despite this recognition, for many she has remained a gorgeous woman from the cover of the magazine, whose acting skills are significantly inferior to spectacular appearance.

Irina Alferova

For all our viewers who at least once saw Irina Alferova in the role of Constance, there probably no longer exist better interpretations of this image. Feminine, sweet, touching, sacrificial, charming Constance has won millions of hearts. But the director of the film, Georgy Yungvald-Khilkevich, was categorically against her candidacy - the cold beauty of Alferova, in his opinion, contradicted this image. In this role, he represented only Evgenia Simonova - playful, sly, nimble, elusive, with a twinkle in her eyes, which Constance should have been. In it, the director saw the "French lightness" he needed. But Alferova was approved by the leadership of the State Film Agency. According to another version, Simonova herself refused the role, having learned that instead of Alexander Abdulov, D'Artanyan would be played by Mikhail Boyarsky.

According to Irina Alferova, the director could not come to terms with the approval of her candidacy. On the set, he ignored her, they did not rehearse with her, and she played all her scenes alone, with an empty chair instead of a partner. The actress did not participate in the frequent feasts after the filming, and her colleagues considered her arrogant and arrogant. Years later, Alferova told: "".

Alferova's voice seemed to the director too low and rude, and Anastasia Vertinskaya voiced the role instead. Yungvald-Khilkevich admitted: "".

Another female image looked no less striking in all the adaptations of The Three Musketeers: 6 best Milady in world cinema.